“WHEN THIS CRUEL WAR IS OVER”
“Weeping, sad and lonely,
Hopes and fears, how vain, (Yet praying)
When this cruel war is over,
Praying! that we meet again.”
Oftentimes, in the very small of the morning, I sit in a totally darkened family room, my lover sleeping peacefully on the sofa, the only light the flickering monitor; the only sound the whirr of the fan cooling the innards of this magical box that whisks me from my home in the quiet rural Illinois countryside to the cacophonous uproar of the cities and towns that are the battlefields of the new Iraq.
War, the Great Destroyer, was once seen in apocalyptic terms. One of the four horsemen along with famine, pestilence and death, war was seen as punishment for the sins of an entire society; an allegory for an angry God punishing the people for disobedience, hubris, or rejection of the deity Himself.
As armies of old moved from battlefield to battlefield, they acted as marauding locusts, plundering, raping, pillaging until it must have seemed as if all of the ancient furies had been released to torment the innocent and bring down the wrath of heaven on the guiltless.
Modern warfare is, if anything, more destructive to civilians than in the past. Part of the reason has to do with the necessities of “asymmetric warfare.” When one side is at an enormous disadvantage militarily, the only option is to use civilians as sheilds against the technological and material superiority of your enemy. Hence, the urban warfare in Fallujah. Mosul, and elsewhere is directly related to the belief, at least in part, that using the innocent can be rationalized as one of the exigencies of guerilla war.
There’s another more practical reason for using the deaths of innocents to further one’s war aims. In Iraq, the only hope for the terrorists, Sunni insurgents, and foreign fighters to succeed is if the Americans just simply go away. To achieve this, the enemy uses the international media-specifically the American press-to put pressure on the US government to withdraw. Their hope is to use the American people’s reluctance to inflict civilian casualties as a weapon to force the Americans into an untenable political situation at home and change public opinion so that wide spread protests and civil unrest will speed the American departure.
Is it worth it, then, to go into cities and towns to root out the enemy while destroying what you’re trying to save and cause the deaths of perhaps hundreds of innocent people? This, from a battalion commander in Iraq (courtesy of the Mudville Gazette.)
“I believe that we are making progress in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Despite the ravings of pundits and uninformed ambulance chasers, this fight doesn’t’ hinge on oil or payback. It isn’t about religion or race. And it damn sure is not about any innate desire to rule the world. These people will succeed or fail on their own merits. The task is daunting. You can release a person from bondage. You can remove a tyrant from power. You can create the conditions for liberty. But, you cannot simply grant or proclaim freedom. Freedom without honest action is a whisper in a storm just as change without vision and purpose is the illusion of progress.”
The old saw, “freedom isn’t free” seems to be more than a cliche. The commander points out what the Iraqi people are up against:
“This enemy has twisted and distorted things both sacred and profane to guide as well as justify its means and its stated end. Nothing is beyond the realm of the possible when it comes to the depths to which it will sink, the horror it is willing to commit, or the suffering it is willing to inflict. This enemy has no concept of mercy nor does it recognize combatants. Innocence is not a factor. You need only look at the headlines of the day to confirm that children, teachers, and doctors are murdered everyday by these villains. What makes them evil? I submit that it is not the act that earns them the epithet of evil - it is the intent to commit and the pride they draw from the act.” (battalion Commander quotes courtesy of My War)
It’s sometimes easy to put these facts out of one’s head, especially when advocating the vigorous prosecution of this war. By encouraging the idea of all out war on the insurgents, we are condemning civilians to a misery that is unfathomable to those of us who sit in our safe, warm homes and act as cheerleaders for the conflict.
To bring that point home, here’s the story of a young Iraqi girl living in Mosul. Her story is not about liberation, or freedom, or some nebulous notion of a better life in the futue. Her story is about the here and now of living in a place where bombs are going off and bullets are flying around and hitting loved ones. She doesn’t care who fired the bullet…all she cares about is who it hit:
“The morning came, I was sleeping at my room upstairs, and a war of bullets started… I decided to move myself down when it started to be a heavy fighting and there were also explosions and mom was shouting at me to get down… It was 10AM. My oldest sister was ready to go, but she can’t go in such situation so she decided to wait till it calms down.”
The girl, who calls herself “Aunt Najma, begins to be concerned about her sister’s husband (for security reasons(!) she calls her sister “S”)
“My brother-in-law was supposed to come before the Eid (A landmark day during Ramadan. Ed.). We didn’t know when exactly, because the hospital’s phone is broken… My oldest sister (Let’s call her S now) was so worried that he’ll come and get stuck in the other side of the city because of the curfew, so she tried to call him on a friend’s mobile, it wasn’t working but it did at about 11AM, she told her to tell him not to come because the situation is too bad and he won’t make it till here…”
“She said also that her father-in-law got shot in his leg while trying to get back from the clinic, and he’s in the hospital and that her husband should go with him since nobody in the neighborhood can move his head out of the door! The war was horribly improving.”
“Horribly improving” indeed.
“S called her brother-in-law, and he told her that he is in the hospital and that his father has DIED…
I can’t describe how I felt, I was crying and shaking and the tears wouldn’t go out… I just held Aya who’s just lost a grandpa and made sure she won’t cry and make things worse. S was terribly SAD, confused, and WORRIED about everything. Mostly about her husband who’s in his way to a big surprise and about her sister-in-law who’s alone at home in the middle of the war, pregnant in her 9th month…”
“Those were one of the most horrible moments in my life. People calling asking if what they’ve heard about S’s father-in-law was true, my sister crying and worried (I’ve never seen her like that), 3 cars burning in the street, and then S’s brother-in-law called and asked about the place where they keep the cotton (They brought his father home, and they’re trying to wash him like the Muslims do to their dead before burying them), there were no enough cotton and they can’t go out to buy some.”
The girl is deeply religious. I don’t think I’d be quite as accepting fo that kind of death:
“Nobody knows who shoot him, but everybody knows that he’s now in Heaven.
He died in the night of power, fasting, and shaheed. At least he’s seen his first grandchild who’ll carry his name (Aya)… His son said that this was the death that he’s always dreamt of.”
“Dad is trying to convince me that everybody has his own day to die and that not allowing him to get out is not a solution!! That’s how things are going on, the war is not over and I slept at the sound of bullets and explosions last night… Mom said that this war is the worst among all the others… The Arabic media didn’t mention anything!!”
“I’ll wake up tomorrow (If I’m alive of course) and put on my new clothes, and see if we’re going to get out…”
The comments on her post were equally compelling and poignant:
“Please know that the world has wrapped their prayers around you and send many, many hugs. May you sleep in peace tonight without anymore explosions, bullets and bloodshed.”
“You, at your young age, has learned that freedom comes at a high price. History shows us that many of the countries that recently lived under terrible terror can change and be free as Germany, Japan, South Korea. That people are the same all over the world in their love of freedom. Let this horror in Iraq be the last.”
“My dearest friends are those who, when they were young, bravely came through difficult times. You are strong, and from this struggle that surrounds you will become even stronger. From the sorrow you will taste life the sweeter. By supporting those around you, you will learn how to lead. You have a amazing future ahead of you. I wish you well and send you my best wishes.”
And this from a soldier’s wife:
“I am so very sorry to hear about your loss. I am the wife of a US Soldier who is in Mosul right now. Hearing things on the news here couldn’t possibly touch me as much as your posts have. I wish I had some way of expressing to you how sorry I am for your loss. I can’t even begin to imagine what it is like for you, being in the middle of everything that is going on. Just know that the Americans do love you. We only want to help bring peace to your country. I know there is a long, bumpy road ahead, but I believe, in the end, things will be better. Just hang in there and know that you have thousands of people praying for the safety of you, and your family. God Bless you.”
“If amid the din of battle,
Nobly you should fall,
Far away from those who love you,
None to hear your call.
Who would whisper words of comfort,
Who would soothe your pain?
Ah! the many cruel fancies,
Ever in my brain.”
(”When this Cruel War is Over” (1862)
Words by Charles Carroll Sawyer
Music Composed and Arranged by Henry Tucker)
“The many cruel fancies ever in my brain”…the worst we can imagine for the brave 16 year old girl. And yet, despite the rabid opposition from the international community and many in this country, is there a reason to hope for a brighter future for “Aunt Najma” and all the little boys and girls in that unhappy country?
If there is, it will be due entirely to the bravery and courage of the United States military and the grit and determination of the American people who are willing to endure the specter of innocent blood being spilled for a larger, greater goal; the freedom and liberty of people in the middle east and the goal of translating those concepts into safety and security for Americans at home.